Apocalypse Healer - Path of Death-Chapter 9B2 - Verge of Death

Was Torb dead? David’s stomach churned at the thought. He materialized the Obsidian Blade and charged ahead, applying overclocked [Holy Touch] and [Slash] to his soulbound weapon. However, before David could strike at the massive foot pinning Torb to the ground, it moved.

David slowed, narrowing his eyes as the creature walked away.

Was it not an enemy? he wondered, craning his neck to see what had attacked them in the first place. A shudder coursed through him when he realized most of the creature’s body wasn’t visible. Towering above the treetops and shrouding his view, it loomed far beyond anything he had ever seen.

How in the…? David’s breath caught in his throat as he assessed the sheer size of the beast. Its height must have exceeded twenty meters. Twisting his neck further, he caught a glimpse of the rest of its body: an impossibly long neck, grayish skin, and a frame that stretched at least twice its height. It resembled a Brachiosaur—but not entirely. Thick, heavy plates covered most of its skin, resembling the frill of a Xenoceratops, giving it an almost armored appearance. And yet, despite its strange mutations, it still looked unmistakably like a Brachiosaur.

A weak groan reached David’s ears, pulling his attention to a deep footprint carved into the ground. Torb lay there, squashed into the earth, twitching faintly. His armor was dented and flattened in spots, pressing cold metal into his battered body—but Torb was alive. His life force, though faint and fading, still flickered within him.

That was all that mattered.

David dismissed the Obsidian Blade back to his mind space and rushed to Torb’s side. Without hesitation, he cast [Weave of Life] and overclocked it, stabilizing the dwarf’s life force before layering it with [Restore] at maximum strength.

Zachariah appeared beside them, his expression grim. Moving with practiced precision, the regressor’s hand glowed silver as he cut through Torb’s damaged armor. In seconds, the dwarf was peeled free, revealing his injuries.

David heard a sharp gasp from his right but ignored it. Banishing all distractions, he bent down and got to work.

Torb’s armor, crushed under the Brachiosaur’s immense weight, had left jagged metal shards lodged into his body. Several deep cuts marred his skin, some dangerously close to vital organs. David immediately cast [Purify], cleansing the wounds in one swift motion. He followed with another instance of [Blessing], then overlapped [Healing Light] and [Restore]. While the effects began to work, they weren’t as efficient as he’d hoped.

Frowning, David planted his hands on Torb’s chest and overclocked [Holy Touch], unleashing its crimson holy power into the dwarf’s battered form. The energy surged through him, spreading to every damaged part and mending the injuries from within.

Words of Power spilled from David’s lips, infused with the Law of Blood. He channeled the holy power to amplify the healing effects of [Healing Light], [Restore], and [Weave of Life], binding them together into one cohesive force. Careful not to disrupt the delicate balance, he kept reciting the Words of Power, pouring all his focus into the process.

A low groan escaped Torb, more vigorous than before. David’s Source stirred as the Law of Blood activated fully, enhancing the healing. Flattened parts of Torb’s body began to swell and reform, regaining their original shape. Deep punctures knit together seamlessly, leaving no trace of the injuries that had nearly killed him.

“How are you still alive?” Melach’s incredulous voice broke through the tense silence.

“I’m a dwarf, you dork,” Torb croaked weakly, but there was a faint smirk in his tone.

“Whatever. Shut up and try to stay alive!”

No further words were exchanged as David continued his work. Before long, Torb’s weak groans turned into muttered curses.

“My armor! What did you do to it?!”

“I cut it open to save your life. It—” Zachariah’s response was cut short.

“You brickheaded idiot! What about my shield? Did you destroy that too?!”

David slumped back onto the ground, breathing heavily. He ignored the argument brewing between Zachariah and Torb, letting the two bicker while he focused on replenishing his energy. Retracting [Holy Touch], he stopped overclocking [Healing Light] and allowed it to run at its base level. Finally, he ceased [Weave of Life] and [Restore] entirely, confident that Torb no longer needed them.

“I guess you’re feeling better, seeing as you can shout like that,” David muttered dryly, brushing a hand through his sweat-drenched hair.

“You understand me, don’t you?” Torb growled, glaring up at him. “Without my armor, I’m much weaker. Forget about dealing with three Utahraptors at once—one of them will be enough to gut me if it breaks [Guardian Shield]!”

David raised an eyebrow. While it was true that supporting and healing the group would be difficult if the dwarf couldn’t protect them—blocking the charge of several powerful monsters—he didn’t understand why Torb was so agitated. There was no reason for him to react like that.

“Don’t you have a Class Skill that allows you to replicate your armaments in situations like this?” David tilted his head. “Or did I misunderstand something?”

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No matter what Torb said, David wasn’t about to end the Rift raid prematurely. He wanted to press on—to face the apex predators of the prehistoric era!

“Ah…” Torb’s cheeks flushed. “Right.”

The dwarf cleared his throat awkwardly. “I have [Nature’s Armaments], but it consumes my Essence and Stamina to—” He trailed off as he noticed David’s intense gaze. A realization dawned on him, and his tone shifted. “You can probably help replenish my used-up Essence.”

Was that possible? David had never tried it before. It promised to be a complicated process since Torb couldn’t convert foreign Essence into energy like Blood. Still, David could always heal him. That ought to suffice.

“I guess so,” David shrugged.

Torb sat upright and carefully rose to his feet, swaying unsteadily before regaining his balance.

An earthy hue coated the dwarf’s body as he closed his eyes, and the soil beneath them began to shift. At first glance, it looked as though the hard-packed ground had liquefied, flowing toward Torb and climbing his frame. The soil encased his feet and legs first, but within moments, his entire body—except for his face—was engulfed.

David watched with interest as the earthen coating condensed and hardened, transforming into armor.

“You look like a dwarven sculpture,” Melach remarked with a smirk.

It was true. Torb resembled a masterfully detailed sculpture carved from solid earth. The only sign of life beneath the armor was his exposed face.

The dwarf groaned and wiped his sweaty forehead before delivering a solid punch to the earthen armor.

“I think I can work with this,” Torb said, evaluating the result. “It’s nothing great, but it’s not shabby either.”

David inspected Torb’s condition and smiled in satisfaction. His friend was fine, though some fatigue was building within him. It hadn’t reached a worrisome level yet, which was a relief.

The Class Skill’s Essence consumption must have been lower than Torb had feared, David guessed.

“What are we going to do now?” David asked as he retrieved several Velociraptor carcasses. A few Words of Power rolled off his tongue, stirring the blood within the corpses. Tendrils of blood oozed from the wounds and snaked toward his outstretched palm. Without hesitation, he grasped the tendrils and cast [Holy Touch], accelerating the process of draining the Velociraptors’ Essences.

“More importantly,” Melach interjected, pointing toward the massive footprints around them, “what was that, and how could a creature with so much natural destructive force be capable of using Stealth?!”

Stealth? David blinked. That would certainly explain why they hadn’t seen or heard the gargantuan Brachiosaur.

“Is that the Rift Boss?” Torb’s eyes gleamed with dangerous excitement. “Let’s kill that thing!”

“How about we calm down for a minute?” Zachariah said firmly. “I don’t think this is the Rift Boss. At best, it’s a Regional Boss. Regardless, the Brachiosaur appears to be heavily armored and a mutant. It probably gained a Rune of Stealth from defeating its enemies. The creature didn’t attack us, but I’m certain it would have crushed us if we’d made the first move. Did everyone see how the Carnosaurs reacted? They fled the moment they saw it.”

Zachariah paused, giving them a moment to process the information.

David frowned, replaying the events in his mind. A Rune of Stealth on a Brachiosaur? That would explain a lot.

"Either way, the Brachiosaur is not our priority. Hunting it might help us grow stronger, but this incident should remind us of our current limitations. One mistake, and one—or all—of us could be dead. We were lucky this time, but if the Brachiosaur had crushed someone else..."

Zachariah didn’t need to finish. David understood what the regressor meant, and he was certain the others did too.

“You want to avoid combat and look for the Rift Core to gain full control of the Rift, right?” Melach asked, breaking the silence. “I still don’t know how you plan to control the Rift, but you seem like you know what you’re doing. Do you know where to find the Rift Core as well?”

Zachariah smirked. “No, I don’t know the exact location. But I know where we need to go.”

“The most dangerous area, I guess,” David added, earning a knowing smile from the regressor.

“Exactly. This is an unusual natural Rift. If we're fortunate enough, its' Rift Core might produce Origin Essence. Some call it elemental Essence, but the name doesn’t matter. Origin Essence can be absorbed by any creature, allowing them to transcend their natural limits. There might not be much Origin Essence available, but that only makes it more coveted by the strongest creatures here.”

“So, you want us to venture into a warzone filled with the Rift’s strongest prehistoric monsters? Creatures that have already absorbed Origin Essence?” Torb frowned deeply, but Zachariah only shrugged.

“Do you want to become Fortress’ Champion or not? If not, I’ll leave to spend my time doing something that actually helps me grow stronger.”

David’s grin widened at the challenge. While Torb clearly thought heading toward the Rift Core, where the strongest prehistoric monsters fought for supremacy, was a bad idea, David relished it. If those creatures were anything like the Brachiosaur... His excitement grew, even as a voice in the back of his mind whispered how reckless it was.

“This isn’t a Common 1-Star Rift, is it?” he asked.

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“It’s at least a Rare 2-Star Rift,” Melach replied, his voice thoughtful. “The Aether density here is shockingly high, and there are too many powerful monsters. Maybe...” His eyes widened as he seemed to realize the implications. “Is this a 3-Star Rift? If that’s the case, we’ll have to face Silver Rank Bosses to reach the Rift Core.”

The elf gasped, his face paling as the full weight of his words hit him. “That’s suicidal! We’re only Low to Mid-Bronze Rank... how do you expect us to—”

“All we need is teamwork, tactics, and a lot of traps,” Zachariah interrupted, his smile unwavering. “That would solve most problems. Then again, we don’t have to kill anything. We just need to reach the Rift Core and alter it to gain access to the portals and settlement function.”

“This is a natural Rift with various types of creatures. As you can see, they’re tearing each other apart. They’re not allies like the Darkai of the Demon Horde. The Brachiosaur is probably one of the Region Bosses.” He glanced at David. “For the record, ‘Region Boss’ refers to the strongest creatures in specific areas of a Rift. Mini-Bosses that leave the Rift are usually strong, but they’re actually former Region Bosses that were forced out of natural Rifts after stronger creatures conquered their territories.”

So, Region Bosses are stronger than Mini-Bosses of the same Rift? David wondered, his chest pounding with excitement.